Method of connecting a hose between stations

ABSTRACT

A method of connecting a hose between a pair of stations wherein at least one of the stations is erratically movable with respect to the other and at least one of the stations has a pipe terminating in a pipe tee coupled thereto and the other of the stations is connected to the hose. A drawline is extended through the run of the pipe tee. One end of the drawline is connected to the free end of the hose and the drawline is pulled through the run of the pipe tee. The hose is connected to the adjacent end in a fluid-tight relationship and the drawline is disconnected from the hose. Finally, the drawline is removed from the pipe tee and the other end of the run of the pipe tee is closed whereby the pipe tee establishes fluid communication between the hose and the pipe.

United States Patent Simon METHOD OF CONNECTING A HOSE BETWEEN STATIONSTheodore A. Simon, Houston, Tex. Shell Oil Company, New York, NY.

Nov. 4, 1970 Inventor:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.: 86,954

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 795,489, Jan. 31,1969, Pat. No. 3,566,500.

US. Cl. ..29/427, 29/237, 137/15 Int. Cl. ..B23p 19/02 Field of Search..29/157, 426, 237; 137/15;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1964 Peterseni... ..137/152/1966 Watkins et al ..29/237 51 Aug. 22, 1972 3,431,739 3/1969Richardson et al ..61/72.3

Primary Examiner-Charlie T. Moon Attorneybouis J. Bovasso and J. H.McCarthy [57] ABSTRACT A method of connecting a hose between a pair ofstations wherein at least one of the stations is erratically movablewith respect to the other and at least one of the stations has a pipeterminating in a pipe tee cou pled thereto and the other of the stationsis connected to the hose. A drawline is extended through the run of thepipe tee. One end of the drawline is connected to the free end of thehose and thedrawline is pulled through the run of the pipe tee. The hoseis connected to the adjacent end in a fluid-tight relationship and thedrawline is disconnected fromthe hose. Finally, the drawline is removedfrom the pipe tee and theother end of the run of the pipe tee is closedwhereby the pipe tee establishes fluid communication between the hoseand the pipe.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures METHOD OF CONNECTING A HOSE BETWEEN STATIONSCROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division ofa co-pending application of T. A. Simon Ser. No. 795,489, filed Jan. 31,1969, now US. Pat. No. 3,566,500, entitled, Method of Connecting a Hosebetween Stations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to couplings; and, more particularly, to a method of connectinga hose between stations wherein one of the stations is erraticallymovable with respect to the other.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various prior art methods and devicesexist for coupling tubings to one another, including the connection of aflexible to a relatively stationary tubing. However, difficulties arisewhere flexible tubing is of large diameter, resulting in inadequateflexibility for ease of coupling to an erratically movable member. Forexample, it is often desired to connect oil or gas tankers to relativelylarge diameter, long, flexible gas or oil lines, as for example hoses l2inches in nominal diameter and 600 feet in length. In such cases, thesehoses are provided with blind flanges, complete with lifting lugs, thehoses being attached to marker or mooring buoys. After the tanker ismoored to the buoy, the hoses are lifted to the deck of the tanker andconnected to the tanker manifold one at a time. Such a procedure isconventional on most tankers inasmuch as most ship derricks cannothandle more than three tons in weight, which would be exceeded bylifting several fluid-filled hoses simultaneously.

I Normal mooring connection time for each hose may be as much as 2 hoursand 45 minutes and can exceed 4 hours in unfavorable conditions;disconnect time may be as much as 1 hour. Consequently, the total lengthof time, of course, would be determined by the number of hoses to beconnected and/or disconnected.

A major difficulty encountered in such prior art mooring methods is thatit is difficult to mate or line up satisfactorily the flange faces ofthe hose and the tanker manifold so as to bolt the flanges or engage thecamlocks of the hose clamping means. Of course, these difficulties arecompounded by heavy, large diameter, relatively inflexible hoses,non-availability of a suitable mechanical device to draw flange facestightly together for coupling, or rough seas, and other situations whereone of the stations to be connected is erratically movable with respectto the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are preferably carriedout by providing a method of connecting a hose between a pair ofstations wherein at least one of the stations is erratically movablewith respect to the other and at least one of the stations has a pipeterminating in a pipe tee coupled thereto with the other stationconnected to the hose. A drawline is extended through the run of thepipe too. One end of the drawline is connected to the free end of thehose and the drawline is pulled through the run of the pipe tee tothereby draw the hose into mating contact with the adjacent end of thepipe tee. The hose is connected to the adjacent end in fluid-tightrelationship and the drawline is disconnected from the hose. Finally,the drawline is removed from the pipe tee and the other end of the pipetee is closed whereby the pipe tee establishes fluid communicationbetween the hose and the pipe.

- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational viewof atanker having a hose connected thereto; 7

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view showing the hose of FIG; 1 beingpulled into position;

FIG. 3 is apartial elevational view showing the hose of FIG. 2 inposition with the connecting means being removed therefrom; and 7 FIG. 4is a partial elevational view of the completed hose connection of FIGS.1 through 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG I a tanker IIis shown resting on the surface 12 of a body of water 13. A derrick I4is shown disposed on the deck 15 of tanker 11. A winch line 16, coupledto a winch 34, extends from derrick 14 directly above a conventionalpipe tee 17. Pipe tee 17 is in turn coupled to both a hose l8 and a pipeor manifold 19 connected to tanker ll. Hose 18 maybe relatively long inlength, may or may not be filled with liquids or gases, and may beequipped with suitable floats (not shown). l-IOse 18 may be coupled to aremote station such as a dock, quay, underwater gathering systems, andon or off shore pipelines or storage tanks (all not shown) as a wellknown in the art.

The pipe or manifold 19 may be coupled to storage tanks (not shown) ontanker 11. In this manner, oil or gas or any other fluids may beconveyed between tanker 11 and the station or stations coupled to hose18.

It can be seen from the foregoing description of FIG. 1 that thisarrangement is suitable for the purposes described. HOwever, on the highseas, whereby one or more of the stations, such as the tanker 11 and thestation coupled to hose 18, are erratically movable with respect to theother, the problem of connecting a stiff oil transfer hose to a mooredtanker becomes increasingly difficult, especially in rough weather.Drawing up and paralleling the flange faces of large diameter hoseflanges to companion flanges is a difficult and time consuming taskbecause of the problem of aligning the bolt use outboard of a shipsgunnel or quay edge, but are also applicable inboard at the shipsmanifold or in any other (marine or land) situation where large-diameterhose connections can be made with the aid of a single winch line.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the free end of hose 18 ispreferably provided with a threaded bull-plug 20 having a lifting lug 21attached thereto. Although other methods are possible to connect thelifting lug, a bull-plug also serves to seal the hose end when not inuse. A conventional hose coupling 22 surrounds the free end of hose 18.Coupling 22 is adapted to engage a like coupling 23 attached to theverticallyaligned adjacent arm end 24 welded to one end of the run ofpipe tee 17. Couplings 22 and 23 may be any suitable couplings forreadily joining together pipe sections. For example, couplings, asmanufactured by the Thornhill-Craver Company of Houston, Tex., describedon pages 4795 through 4801 of the 1968-1969 Composite Catalog of OilField Equipment and Services, published by World Oil, may be used.Bolted flanges may also be used, but at least one flange should be freeto rotate for ease of bolt" hole alignment.

The lowermost end of winch line 16 is provided with a hook 25 attachedthereto. Hook 25 is coupled to a specially-designed connection hook 26having a pivotally-mounted arm 27.'Arm 27 is pivoted at 28 and adaptedto extend through a mating hole -29 at the lower end of hook 26. Arm 27may be resiliently biased, if desired. Obviously, other types offastening means may be provided so that winch line 16 may be readilyattached and detached from lug 21, the only requirements being that,first, such fastening means is of a size so as to be adapted to extendfreely through the vertically-aligned arms or run of pipe tee 17 bypassing into upper arm end 30 and out of lower arm end 24 as seen inFIG. 2 and, second, it be adequately designed to withstand torsionforces which will be exerted if connected to a threaded bull plug 20during removal of same.

In operation, connector hook 26 is passed or lowered through thevertically-aligned arms or run of pipe tee 17 by passing it into theupper arm end 30 and out of the lower arm end 24. The hook 26 isattached to the lifting lug 21 of bull plug 20 by passing arm 27 throughlug 21 and into hole 21 The line 16 is then lifted until coupling 22comes into contact with coupling 23 on pipe tee 17. The hose is coupledto pipe tee 17 by joining the couplings 27 and 23 together, as forexample by passing a bolt 31 (FIG. 2) of the couplings 22 and 23.

Referring now to FIG. 3, connection hook 26 may be turned so that bullplug 20 is threaded out of engagement with the free end of hose 18. Thismay be accomplished by rotating hook 26, by means of a wrench or similardevice, counter-clockwise to remove the bull plug 20.

Referring now the FIG. 4, bull plug 20 'is pulled out of the arm of pipetee 17 by lifting it free of arm ends 24 and 30. A blind cover or flange33, as for example the blinds described in the aforementioned CompositeCatalog, may be fastened to the open arm end 30 of pipe tee 17. In thismanner, fluid-tight communication is completed between hose 18 and pipemanifold 19.

The hose bull plug 20 may then be removed from hook 25 and placed on thedeck of tanker 11. After the upper blind cover 33 is replaced andfastened, the connection is complete. Obviously, pipe tee 17 may beprovided with such a blind cover 33 prior to carrying out the steps ofFIGS. 2 through 4. In such a case, the blind cover must be first removedfrom the pipe tee. It may also be appropriate to provide a removablecentering guide 35 (FIG. 2) through which the winch line 16 can slide toprevent internal damaging of tee 17 during operations.

It has been found that the method of my invention permits the couplingof hoses between stations wherein one of the stations is erraticallymovable with respect to the other, as for example in rough seas, in arelatively short length of time, as for example less than 20 minutes perhose as compared to several hours. This is a considerable savings intime over known prior art methods.

Of course, the foregoing steps may be reversed so as to disconnect thehose 18. Thus, blind flange 33 is removed from pipe tee 17 thusestablishing fluid communication through the run of the tee 17. Bullplug 20 is re-installed onto the free end of hose l8 and winch line 16is lowered through the run of tee 17 with bull plug 20 coupled to hook26, as discussed hereinabove. Bolt 31 is removed and hose 18, attachedto winch line 16, may be lowered away from mating contact with tee 17.Hook 27 is then driven out of hole 29 with a hammer (not shown) orsimilar means and hose 18 is dropped to the water 13. Of course, bullplug 20 may be merely installed on hose 18, bolt 31 removed and hose l8dropped to the water 13 without the necessity of lowering winch line 16and hook 26 as discussed hereinabove.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of disconnecting a hose coupled to a pair of stationswherein at least one of the stations is erratically movable with respectto the other and at least one of said stations has a pipe terminating ina pipe tee coupled thereto with said hose coupled to one end of the runof said pipe tee in fluid-tight relationship and the other end of saidrun being closed, thereby establishing fluid communication between saidhose and said pipe tee, said method comprising the steps of:

opening the other end of said run thereby establishing fluidcommunication through the run of said pipe tee;

extending a drawline through the run of said pipe tee;

connecting said drawline to the end of said hose coupled to said run;

disconnecting said hose from said one end of said run; and

lowering said hose by lowering said drawline through said run therebyreleasing said hose.

2. The method of claim 1 including the steps, prior to disconnectingsaid hose from said one end of said run, of:

extending a drawline through the run of said pipe tee;

connecting said drawline to the end of said hose coupled to said run;and

lowering said hose by lowering said drawline through said run therebyreleasing said hose.

3. The method of claim 1 including the steps of:

removing said drawline from said hose; and

raising said drawline through and out of said run.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of conand necting saiddrawline to the end of said hose coupled to joining said connecting hookmeans to the lifting lug said run includes the steps of: of said bullplug means in retentive relationship.

providing connecting hook means at the free end of The method of Claim 4wherein the p Of remov- 5 ing said drawline from said hose includes thestep of:

releasing said hook means from said lifting lug.

said drawline; providing threaded bull plug means having a lifting lugattached thereto to the free end of said hose;

1. A method of disconnecting a hose coupled to a pair of stationswherein at least one of the stations is erratically movable with respectto the other and at least one of said stations has a pipe terminating ina pipe tee coupled thereto with said hose coupled to one end of the runof said pipe tee in fluid-tight relationship and the other end of saidrun being closed, thereby establishing fluid communication between saidhose and said pipe tee, said method comprising the steps of: opening theother end of said run thereby establishing fluid communication throughthe run of said pipe tee; extending a drawline through the run of saidpipe tee; connecting said drawline to the end of said hose coupled tosaid run; disconnecting said hose from said one end of said run; andlowering said hose by lowering said drawline through said run therebyreleasing said hose.
 2. The method of claim 1 including the steps, priorto disconnecting said hose from said one end of said run, of: extendinga drawline through the run of said pipe tee; connecting said drawline tothe end of said hose coupled to said run; and lowering said hose bylowering said drawline through said run thereby releasing said hose. 3.The method of claim 1 including the steps of: removing said drawlinefrom said hose; and raising said drawline through and out of said run.4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of connecting said drawline tothe end of said hose coupled to said run includes the steps of:providing connecting hook means at the free end of said drawline;providing threaded bull plug means having a lifting lug attached theretoto the free end of said hose; and joining said connecting hook means tothe lifting lug of said bull plug means in retentive relationship. 5.The method of claim 4 wherein the step of removing said drawline fromsaid hose includes the step of: releasing said hook means from saidlifting lug.